THUNDER BAY – Municipal leaders are planning to preserve a “silver lining” of the pandemic – the expanded ability for citizens and leaders to participate online – as city hall prepares to reopen to the public.
Residents will again be allowed to watch meetings from council chambers and give in-person deputations as of March 21, the city announced Thursday (the date will be April 1 for ward and town hall meetings).
The gallery will open at full capacity, given the easing of provincial restrictions, said city clerk Krista Power. Whether masks will be required is still being decided by the city’s corporate safety department.
City hall's lobby will also be opened during meetings to offer more space. Plexiglas barriers erected in council chambers will remain, for now.
Service counters at city hall will also reopen Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., though the city continues to encourage making appointments for all services.
Coun. Shelby Ch’ng called the news a “relief.”
“These are markers that signal to us that the end is near for the pandemic,” she said.
Coun. Andrew Foulds hopes the reopening will stick.
“The last two years of opening and closing, virtual and in-person, has been incredibly taxing,” he said.
While celebrating the milestone, city councillors said it’s a time for respect and restraint.
“I’m mindful of health challenges, and I think we need to appreciate different people are at different points of their comfort level,” said Foulds.
On Monday, all councillors were invited to attend in person for the first time since the Omicron wave.
The fact that few embraced that initial opportunity suggests not everyone is chomping at the bit to return, said Coun. Rebecca Johnson. She herself is hesitant, but welcomed the new rules.
“I think it’s good we’re starting to open up again,” she said, “as long as we make sure it’s done through science. Personally, I’m not ready... to go out to meetings with large numbers of people.”
The city will stick with the hybrid model adopted during the pandemic, continuing to allow virtual participation on an equal footing, Power said.
“While certainly we look forward to having more members here, we appreciate that everyone has their own circumstance – someone may be immunocompromised, have family members they’re seeking to protect, or need to isolate,” she said.
There's also the fact that streaming meetings online has significantly boosted engagement.
“I’d say if there’s something great that has come out of the pandemic, it’s the virtual connection, for citizens to be able to turn on a ward or town hall meeting and be able to see that happen live,” said Power. “A great ward meeting pre-pandemic would be 30 people. Now, on average, we have 40 to 50 folks tuning in [just online].”
Councillors who spoke with TBNewswatch called preserving online participation a no-brainer.
“Technology has changed how we do business, [and] we can’t go completely back,” said Johnson. "It’s a very different world than when we started this a couple of years ago.”
“I would not want that to go back to all in person. We have more people who watch online… I think that’s a real advantage, and it also helps people who have accessibility issues.”
Ch’ng said she’d pushed for online ward meetings during the last term of council, but the idea wasn’t taken up at the time.
“I wish it didn’t take a pandemic to realize that, but I’m really happy we’re able to pivot to digital,” she said.
The shift could also save money, Power noted.
“There were times pre-pandemic where we'd fly a consultant in from Toronto,” she said. “Now we wouldn’t [necessarily] do that anymore – potentially we'll put them on a Teams call."
The ability for councillors to participate virtually is ultimately up to the province, which updated Municipal Act regulations during the pandemic to allow those joining online to vote and be counted toward quorum.
There’s no indication the Ford government is looking to roll back those changes, said Power.
If that becomes the new status quo, it could raise questions over just how much virtual participation is acceptable.
“In a perfect world, we’d all manage ourselves and not take advantage of it,” said Coun. Mark Bentz.
“I think it should be up to council members,” Ch’ng said.
For her part, Johnson said she sees numerous benefits in joining from home, including the ability to spread out notes and a laptop.
“I find it efficient,” she said. “It’s going to be a challenge to adapt.”
But as many have learned, virtual meetings aren’t all roses.
“Not having those pre-council chats… It took a lot to keep motivated to keep going forward, because you just feel so isolated from your colleagues,” said Ch’ng.
The public’s tolerance for online participation may also be waning, Foulds believes.
“I think people are tired of engaging online and find it a lot more rewarding face-to-face.”
Councillors' physical presence can also influence the quality of debate at city hall, he suggested.
“Chambers is a great place. When you have the majority attending, I think the level of debate is higher… Communication is a lot richer than a two-dimensional screen.”
